


Mistakes

by Churbooseanon



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-26 23:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1707014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Churbooseanon/pseuds/Churbooseanon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The way Caboose remembers Church probably isn’t healthy. But Washington isn’t sure he can bring himself to correct Caboose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistakes

Mornings are the hardest part. For all that he’s heard Caboose claim never to dream, the way he whimpers quietly in his sleep and whispers Church’s name says otherwise. The nights confuse him, because clearly in his dreams, Church is still with them. So, when the sun rises and Wash shakes him awake for morning rations, Caboose looks up at him and with a smile in his voice thanks Church for waking him.

The first time it was awkward, but Washington had let it go because what was served by correcting him? They had only just arrived back at the blue base, and it had taken hours to get Caboose to stop asking why they’d left Church behind and go to sleep. Clearly it hadn’t registered yet. Waking up and seeing someone in Church’s armor had meant it was Church. Correcting him would have been too much too soon for a clearly mourning man, and he hadn’t wanted to take away what brief moment there was for Caboose where Church was still there. Once the Blue was awake for longer he hadn’t made the same mistake again, so he could see no reason to bring it up and make Church’s quite clear pain even worse.

When it had happened the next morning Wash had racked it up to Caboose still not fully understanding what had happened. Or maybe it had to do with Caboose living up to his promise to remember Church. But it happened the next day, and the next, and every morning after. Caboose would wake when Wash shook him, and with a smile in his voice Caboose would thank Church. It was almost too painful to see. He’d almost asked Tucker to start waking Caboose for him. He’d almost corrected him.

“Why do you let him do that?” Tucker asked one afternoon after Caboose had gone to take up guard duty after his afternoon nap.

“Do what?” Wash asked, hoping that Tucker was asking about something other than what he was certain Tucker was asking.

“Let him call you Church. It’s pathetic, not to mention creepy. Church is gone, and you’re nothing like him.”

He sighs, not turning to acknowledge the question. Instead Wash found himself staring out towards where Caboose was pacing the edge of the base, talking to himself. He was telling himself stories about the past, remembering like he’d promised to do. Not that all the stories worked with the records that Wash had access to, or the way that Tucker explained them.

“Why don’t you tell him how the stories actually go?” Wash countered at last.

“Because he just tells me I’m remembering them all wrong. He won’t believe anything that he hasn’t already decided to believe.”

“Really? And it isn’t because you don’t want to upset him with the truth?”

That silenced Tucker, and after a moment the aqua clad soldier strode off, grumbling to himself about people refusing to answer simple questions.

Except he had answered it, Wash was certain of that. First thing in the morning, when Caboose was waking, he just didn’t know any better. He saw what he wanted to see, or maybe needed to see, and he never seemed to remember. And Wash was pretty sure that if he ever told, it would only break the kid’s heart anew. Who was he to do that?


End file.
